7. FIRST SUBORDINATE

As soon as Celine left the room, Arthur rose from his seat and approached the center of the room, his eyes fixed on the card adorned with intricate golden and white runes.

He activated his sight of genesis and focused his gaze on the card 

[subordinate summoning card (SSS rank)]

[a special card that can be only granted by the gacha system]

[effects- summons a powerful entity of SSS rank. The entity is completely loyal to the host]

Reading the specifics of the subordinate summoning card, Arthur got ready to initiate the summoning.

At this point of time, when he was still unfamiliar with this world and lacked trustworthy allies, he yearned for someone dependable to accompany him on his journey.

***Break***

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Somewhere in the underworld...

In a large Colosseum like structure that seemed to resemble the structure of ancient Rome from Arthur's past life but the size was many times larger than that.

Had Arthur been present, he might have struggled to discern any distinction, save for the sky, painted a deep, ominous red. Instead of the sun, a massive blood-red moon hung overhead, casting its eerie glow upon all below.

In the middle of the Colosseum was a long altar made of some extensive craftsmanship. A human like entity was being hanged upside down.

Black runes seemed to flow from the altar, flowing through the chains that bound this entity.

If one looked closely, they would see an extremely handsome youth, seemingly around his twenties. With sharp, angular facial features, including high cheekbones and a well-defined jawline.

There was a sense of mystery in his eyes capable of captivating anyone.

There were pure dark-crimson colored wings coming out of his back that he was covering himself with

"What a waste of time," he sighed, his gaze sweeping across the packed seats of the Colosseum, filled to the brim with crowds of creatures that could only be described as demons.

The spectators were a diverse array of grotesque beings, their forms contorted and bizarre. Among them were creatures with human-like features, yet adorned with horns jutting from their heads.

Some had tails which were heart shaped at the end, but they were far from looking like a succubus.

His attention shifted from the uppermost seats to the central area of the Colosseum, where a special section, adorned with shed and curtains and could accommodate about a hundred individuals. Here, the demons appeared more human-like, except for the wings and tails that set them apart.

Among the people in this section sat a middle-aged man like a demon on a grand throne with his wings wide apart but still in a relaxed state colored in crimson hue just like the young man hanging on the altar.

His eyes shone red with white vertical slits, staring at the young man in front of him.

All this while the whole crowd in the Colosseum was shouting like crazy. Various loud voices could be heard.

"Kill the traitor of the demon realm!!!"

"Hail the demon god!!!"

"Hail the demon god!!!"

With a raise of his hand, the cheers quieted down. All that could be seen in the eyes of the audience was fear and reverence towards the man.

Sensing that the crowd had quieted down. The man stood up from the throne and came forward to address the person hanging on the altar.

"Unfilial son, before your life seeps out of your body and becomes the nourishment of demon god, do you have any last words?"

The man asked with indifferent eyes

"khe...khe....." with a chuckle, the boy on the altar replied....

"You just hope you don't see me after today, after all, I believe in prophecies more than your ability to kill me." he said 

although his voice was not loud, in the stiffening silence of the environment, his voice bought chills to everyone who heard it.

As if their natural predator had set their eyes on them.

Suddenly, his voice became louder

"To everyone in this realm" 

"Count your days, and wait for Sebastian!!!"

As soon as he said that, a screen appeared in front of him, looking into which a smirk formed on his mouth and he disappeared from his place. Only to leave a hanging chain left to bind nothing on a freshly broken altar and a dumb founded crowd.

The man on the throne narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixated on the shattered altar before him. With authority in his voice, he issued a command.

"Dispatch search parties to all realms above. Ensure that he is captured alive."

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Back in the midworld...

One day before Arthur broke the summoning card....

Arthur stood inside Alice's room looking at her sitting on her bed in a stunned state as if going through a paralysis.

Looking at her condition, beads of sweat formed on Arthur's forehead, and he activated his sight of genesis.

[Name- Alice]

[race-human]

[Age-21]

[class- greatsword maiden]

[level-45]

[talents-Cooking(B grade), Music(D rank)]

[skills-sword mastery(B RANK), sword aura(A rank)]

[physical attributes- 105]

[magical attributes-47]

[special effects- hypnotized by entity named Melinda (severity-weak)]

"As expected, my suspicions were correct," Arthur muttered to himself.

Just a few hours earlier, Melinda, his teacher for historical studies, had barged into his room, behaving outrageously and providing a flimsy excuse for her actions. Her behavior had raised red flags for Arthur, leading him to believe that something was amiss.

He had decided to check on Alice, his maid, to ensure her safety after Melinda's suspicious behavior. Now, it seemed that his fears had been justified, as Alice appeared to have been affected by his enemy, if not directly harmed.

"Did she underestimate me so much that she thought I wouldn't be able to gauge her intentions. Surely she was there to confirm for my death"

Arthur contemplated the situation, realizing that his enemy had underestimated him greatly. He concluded that the mastermind behind the assassination attempt was likely inexperienced and arrogant.

"Must be one of those young masters," he mused to himself. "But to underestimate a duke's son... There are three possibilities."

"First, he could be from the royal family," Arthur considered. "Second, he might be from a ducal family of equal influence to the Nolans. And third, though less likely, he could be from a lower noble family with an intense case of 'young master syndrome,' looking down on me due to my perceived lack of talent."

"Oh damn, I was lost in thought, I should do something to bring her back from this state" he facepalmed as he realized that he had been too focused on the situation that he forgot that his maid was sitting there in hypnosis state.

As he said that, his eyes landed on the jug of water beside the bed, holding the jug of water he moved in front of Alice

"this should work"

Gently holding her chin, Arthur raised Alice's face and carefully poured water onto her cheeks to rouse her from the hypnosis. He hoped it would work, considering that her status indicated the hypnosis effect was weak.

As soon as the water made contact with her skin, Alice jolted awake, her eyes widening in surprise. 

The first thing she saw after waking up was her young master's face as he was holding her face from her chin.